What do you think?
Rate this book
Curve of the Dragon #1
Chasing Shadows
Deep in the Pacific Ocean, the mysterious Palmyra Atoll holds a secret. What appears to be a remote ecological preserve is actually the hidden base of Fractal: a secretive criminal organization that uses brainwashed foot soldiers to attack targets around the globe. An invisible hand guiding world events, Fractal has infiltrated the very governments that should be hunting them and have successfully hidden any trace of the organization’s existence.
While searching for his missing sister, resourceful engineer Will Taylor discovers evidence that points to Palmyra. There’s more to his war hero sister’s disappearance than anyone is telling him, but if he wants answers, he’ll have to journey to the heart of Fractal to find them. Together with rogue CIA officer Carter Callahan, Will sets out for Palmyra Atoll...
And the truth.
CURVE OF THE DRAGON is a riveting new spy series from debut author Matt Stokes. Episodic in nature, each of the four books tells a serialized part of a larger story. Inspired by the likes of James Bond, Mission: Impossible, and Alias, fans of espionage action and fast-paced thrillers will be right at home.
While searching for his missing sister, resourceful engineer Will Taylor discovers evidence that points to Palmyra. There’s more to his war hero sister’s disappearance than anyone is telling him, but if he wants answers, he’ll have to journey to the heart of Fractal to find them. Together with rogue CIA officer Carter Callahan, Will sets out for Palmyra Atoll...
And the truth.
CURVE OF THE DRAGON is a riveting new spy series from debut author Matt Stokes. Episodic in nature, each of the four books tells a serialized part of a larger story. Inspired by the likes of James Bond, Mission: Impossible, and Alias, fans of espionage action and fast-paced thrillers will be right at home.
178 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 9, 2021
28 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Matt Stokes
4 books2 followersMatt Stokes grew up on a steady diet of James Bond movies and works with engineers every day, so the only real surprise here is that he didn't combine them sooner.
Curve of the Dragon is his first novel series, but he has previously written on multiple video games, including the WGA-nominated World in Conflict.
When he's not pitching devs crazy plot twists or devising new ways to torture Will Taylor, Matt can be found producing video games. As a producer, he has worked on installments of Gears of War and Fallout, and was part of the team that brought Shinji Mikami's The Evil Within to life. He was also the project director on the absolutely insane expansion to Borderlands 2, appropriately titled Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage.
Matt lives in Los Angeles, California.
For more books and updates, visit: www.SeeMattWrite.com
Curve of the Dragon is his first novel series, but he has previously written on multiple video games, including the WGA-nominated World in Conflict.
When he's not pitching devs crazy plot twists or devising new ways to torture Will Taylor, Matt can be found producing video games. As a producer, he has worked on installments of Gears of War and Fallout, and was part of the team that brought Shinji Mikami's The Evil Within to life. He was also the project director on the absolutely insane expansion to Borderlands 2, appropriately titled Mr. Torgue's Campaign of Carnage.
Matt lives in Los Angeles, California.
For more books and updates, visit: www.SeeMattWrite.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 24, 2021
Not really sure if I will care to move on. The story did not grab me. Things came too easy for everyone. No, I am sure I will not be moving on.
April 20, 2021
Episode 1? This is nothing more than a little book trying to sell a bunch of "little books." No ending. Characters are OK but story line a bit convoluted. Not my cup of tea and think it will have a very limited audience.
January 29, 2021
Curve of the Dragon – Episode 1, but Matt Stokes is not your typical thriller/espionage novel. It’s of novelette length, and it made me think of the Perils of Pauline, not that I’m really old enough to have seen those. Those stories started in 1914 and were weekly film shorts which always left the hero or heroin in a dire situation and you could only see the resolution if you came to see the film for next week. Hair-raising endings that were unresolved. I do remember that from Dallas when the season concluded with the shooting of J.R. Ewing in 1980, a circumstance that was only resolved the following season.
This story starts right in the middle of the assassination of the British, and you don’t really know why that’s happening or who the good guys are. The author seems to be asking, “Why slow down a plot with character development.” It turns out that the assassination was just a distraction from the theft of a computer which was happening in the building next to the ambassador’s office. Very quickly, we meet Will Taylor who is searching for his missing sister, Laura Taylor, who has been declared MIA. She turns out to be a super US spy who no one has seen for nearly a year. Will does not believe she is dead, and he has been searching the world for some clues. In that process, he stumbles into Carter Callahan who is also looking for Laura Taylor – and he has more clues. The bad agency that is responsible is Fractyl, whose headquarters are located on a remote Pacific atoll. Carter and Will suspect that they will find Laura somewhere on the atoll, and so ends Episode 1.
This is not just a fast-paced story – it is lightening-paced. I’m thinking that Stokes idea of telling this story in episodes will work very well, sort of like the mini-series that we’ve gotten used to watching on television. I am very ready for episode II.
This story starts right in the middle of the assassination of the British, and you don’t really know why that’s happening or who the good guys are. The author seems to be asking, “Why slow down a plot with character development.” It turns out that the assassination was just a distraction from the theft of a computer which was happening in the building next to the ambassador’s office. Very quickly, we meet Will Taylor who is searching for his missing sister, Laura Taylor, who has been declared MIA. She turns out to be a super US spy who no one has seen for nearly a year. Will does not believe she is dead, and he has been searching the world for some clues. In that process, he stumbles into Carter Callahan who is also looking for Laura Taylor – and he has more clues. The bad agency that is responsible is Fractyl, whose headquarters are located on a remote Pacific atoll. Carter and Will suspect that they will find Laura somewhere on the atoll, and so ends Episode 1.
This is not just a fast-paced story – it is lightening-paced. I’m thinking that Stokes idea of telling this story in episodes will work very well, sort of like the mini-series that we’ve gotten used to watching on television. I am very ready for episode II.
February 7, 2021
A smartly crafted espionage thriller featuring a compelling hero and an irresistible global conspiracy.
In the novella’s bewitching opening chapter, a disoriented former soldier wakes in a D.C. hotel. Despite a nagging sensation that something is awry, he goes willingly to the British Ambassador’s residence while a so-called doctor gives him directions through a device embedded within his brain.
Armed with a handgun, he finds himself threatening the ambassador’s family in order to extract a password to a blue box. Once his mission is complete, a bomb embedded within his skull explodes, killing him and everyone else in the room.
As the first entry in Matt Stokes’ Curve of the Dragon series goes on, we learn that the organization behind the attack is called Fractal. Across the globe, remote-controlled soldiers are used to attack strategic targets. But why?
Enter Stokes’ protagonist, 25-year-old Will Taylor. Will is a gifted engineer whose side jobs include freeing criminals from ankle monitors and programming car alarms. But here’s what will make readers root for him: he’s saving up money in hopes of heading to Afghanistan to search for his sister, Laura, a Navy SEAL who is missing in action.
Will hasn’t told anyone what he has planned, which is why his world is turned upside down when an anonymous person reaches out to offer help.
Stokes hits the right notes in this first series entry, which at a concise 133 pages, will whet readers’ appetites for three additional episodes to be released over the next few weeks.
His deft use of bleeding edge tech, poised with the prospect of Will using his considerable skills to find his sister, will have most readers pining for the series’ second installment.
In the novella’s bewitching opening chapter, a disoriented former soldier wakes in a D.C. hotel. Despite a nagging sensation that something is awry, he goes willingly to the British Ambassador’s residence while a so-called doctor gives him directions through a device embedded within his brain.
Armed with a handgun, he finds himself threatening the ambassador’s family in order to extract a password to a blue box. Once his mission is complete, a bomb embedded within his skull explodes, killing him and everyone else in the room.
As the first entry in Matt Stokes’ Curve of the Dragon series goes on, we learn that the organization behind the attack is called Fractal. Across the globe, remote-controlled soldiers are used to attack strategic targets. But why?
Enter Stokes’ protagonist, 25-year-old Will Taylor. Will is a gifted engineer whose side jobs include freeing criminals from ankle monitors and programming car alarms. But here’s what will make readers root for him: he’s saving up money in hopes of heading to Afghanistan to search for his sister, Laura, a Navy SEAL who is missing in action.
Will hasn’t told anyone what he has planned, which is why his world is turned upside down when an anonymous person reaches out to offer help.
Stokes hits the right notes in this first series entry, which at a concise 133 pages, will whet readers’ appetites for three additional episodes to be released over the next few weeks.
His deft use of bleeding edge tech, poised with the prospect of Will using his considerable skills to find his sister, will have most readers pining for the series’ second installment.
November 19, 2021
A fun first “episode”, it is action-packed and over-the-top in all the right ways, combining humorous quips and impossible feats at cinematic speed. I will definitely check out the next book.
May 20, 2022
Great series that is available on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Very James Bond feel - I like how this one sets up the saga.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews